Has anyone ever practiced shooting/trained with airsoft guns?I have used them for indoor target practice,and if it wasn't for my little one,I would set up targets in various places in my house to practice for real world home defense distances.How do you guys feel about airsoft?

I would imagine if you were going to practice HD with airsoft you would want someone else to set up the targets so you don' know in advance where they are.

I've played once out in the woods. Someone gave me a replica Remington 700 Police that they said shot 6mm BBs @ 500fps. We played a 2 vs 2 and I took out the whole other team by myself... granted my gun had an extra 50ft of range compared to their's. It's pretty fun but it's only good if you're playing with honest people, they don't leave a mark like a paintball so it's pretty easy to cheat.

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NCO of Marines, 3rd Award Expert Rifle, 236 KD Range
D Co, 4th CEB, Engineers UP!! OEF 21JUN-20SEP2011
REV. 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

The US Army supposedly used BB guns to train soldiers in snap shooting a few decades past but it isn't something I've read about recently. The British used BB guns for training for operations in Malaysia years ago, too, using fencing masks for eye and head protection. I imagine that idea was thought of and carried out at a local level, rather than higher up where the idea of being shot at is sometimes ignored.

US Military uses all sorts of non-lethal and marker rounds for training. BBs, paint, frangible, rubber.. you name it I'm it's been used somewhere at some point.

I think a lot of people use Air Soft replicas to train/teach handling as well, especially things like drawing, holstering, etc. They also make a good, safe substitute if practicing hand-to-hand combat with a firearm involved.

Some of the gas guns have really gross DA triggers that could teach the user how to handle the triggers on DA revolvers or DAO semis. There are some full metal guns that have fairly realistic weight that could help you grow accustomed to carrying the real version of that gun without having to buy it first. I walked around (in my house not in public) with my G17 tucked into my waistband in various forms of dress just to prove to myself that if I wanted to I could conceal a full sized pistol with just minor adjustments to my wardrobe.

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"I work my whole life, I don't apologize, to take care of my family. And I refused to be a fool dancing on the strings held by all of those big shots. That's my life, I don't apologize for that."
-A very wise man

"...it doesn't mean you're at the top of a water tower with a 30-06 waiting for the balloon to go up..."
-Another very wise man

Airsoft is definitly a great tactics trainer. There exist replicas of most popular firearm models, weight and trigger pull may be less realistic however I see this as a safety benefit in training (Negligent Discharge by introduction of real steel). You can supplement live fire and dry fire practice (sight picture and trigger control) with defensive tactics through the aid of airsoft in the home as most of us don't have access to live fire tac houses. You can practice holstering, retention, searches and sweeps, combat reloads, and point shooting safely in your own home while expending little time and money. Oh yeah, Its just plain fun too!

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"THE CONSTITUTION ONLY GIVES PEOPLE THE RIGHT TO PURSUE HAPPINESS, YOU HAVE TO CATCH IT YOURSELF." ~BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.

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